(Bogota, April 16, 2023, colombia reports/poonal).- The Colombian guerrilla organization ELN (Ejército de Liberación Nacional) criticized the government for not transferring seven seriously ill political prisoners belonging to this guerrilla from prison to house arrest. This was according to the “partial agreement on emergency aid in the context of humanitarian measures” signed at the negotiating table on December 12, which was to come into force on December 31, 2022.
But now the ELN fighter Nelson Enrique Acevedo Duran has died, the said negotiation delegation the ELN with. He was one of the seven seriously ill prisoners and had already been in a vegetative state for several months due to neglected care following a heart attack.
Attack on military base
After the ELN attack on a military base of the Colombian army on March 29 in El Carmen in the state of Norte de Santander, there was a public debate about the insurgent group’s desire for peace and the further course of the talks. The guerrillas accused “the mainstream press, government and military” of waging a campaign to stigmatize their actions, according to a statement:
“The truth is that dialogue develops in the midst of conflict. A bilateral ceasefire has still not been agreed, although we are already working on it with the government. There are actions on both sides, not just those of the ELN”.
Negotiations between the Colombian government and the ELN began in November in the Venezuelan capital Caracas and continued in Mexico City in February. The third round of negotiations has been postponed several times and should now be loud media reports to take place on May 2nd in the Cuban capital Havana. It should be about the participation of civil society, a bilateral ceasefire and humanitarian measures.
Violence rises again
The government responded to the ELN attack on the military base with the killing a senior ELN commander on April 4 in Yondó, Antioquia. Several media also called for a halt to negotiations with the group, which lacked coherence and was at odds, only looking for war. However, the Colombian government has not left the negotiating table, as was the case under the governments of Iván Duque and Juan Manuel Santos.
In early April, the ELN launched a propaganda campaign on social media, putting up banners and distributing leaflets in several cities and streets across the country.
On the other hand, the conflict is intensifying in several regions of the country, leading to a renewed increase in violence. According to the Institute for Peace and Development Studies Indepaz 32 multiple murders were committed in 2023. The murder of social leaders (49 according to Indepaz) has also led to severe criticism of the Petro government’s previous policy of total peace.
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